What a Weird Week gets you caught up on the weird news of the week. https://www.shownotes.page or search "What a Weird Week" where you get podcasts.
(Begin episode transcript) Hi Friends, I'm Scott. This is What a Weird Week where we catch you up on the weird news of the week. For transcript/ shownotes/ podcast stuff see www.shownotes.page! Here's Season 5, Episode 12 first published on Friday March 22 2024
❿ There's a company based in Toronto, Canada that analyzes Dog DNA And they made news this week after an investigative News team at WBZ Boston sent in DNA from their reporter, Christina. And the results came back that Christina was 40% Alaskan Malamute. This dog DNA company claims to have "The highest possible accuracy". You're supposed to send your dog DNA And they help to Identify different things about your dog, like allergies & things that would be useful. This'll cost you between 80 or 200 dollars. The reporter was also 25% Labrador. The dog DNA company says their tests are not set up to handle human DNA. Which is a relief in a way. Because either the Dog DNA company is wrong or WBZ Boston, you hired the most clever pooch in the world as a reporter, and you done been had. Christina's a pooch maybe!?
❾ One of the all-time great Combinations Of Our Generation Is pizza and beer. You've got Fred and Barney. You've got Laverne and Shirley. You've got Procter and Gamble. And then pizza and beer.
This week that combination was in the news because The New Belgium Brewing Company Teamed up with Tombstone frozen pizzas To create A pizza beer/ A beer inspired by, and tasting like delicious pizza. Couple of things they say in the article. First of all not in April Fool's joke because It's not even April fools you guys so they wouldn't pull that, and what does it taste like? Those who've tried it say Tangy Tomato Sauce and Pepperoni. This pizza flavored beer officially launches on National Beer Day, which is April the 7th. A 4-pack is 50 bucks. I'll put a link you can enter to win some if you are legal drinking age. Please enjoy responsibly.
This week that combination was in the news because The New Belgium Brewing Company Teamed up with Tombstone frozen pizzas To create A pizza beer/ A beer inspired by, and tasting like delicious pizza. Couple of things they say in the article. First of all not in April Fool's joke because It's not even April fools you guys so they wouldn't pull that, and what does it taste like? Those who've tried it say Tangy Tomato Sauce and Pepperoni. This pizza flavored beer officially launches on National Beer Day, which is April the 7th. A 4-pack is 50 bucks. I'll put a link you can enter to win some if you are legal drinking age. Please enjoy responsibly.
Next.. the mysterious creature in NS has been identified...
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The Top Ten Weird News Stories of the Week: this is What a Weird Week.
The Top Ten Weird News Stories of the Week: this is What a Weird Week.
❽ A mysterious creature was in the news this week, found in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, East Coast, Canada, beautiful majestic part of the country. The creature turned out to be a raccoon with no hair. And if you have a moment to click, usually I say you don't have to click the show notes because I can describe the picture, in this case if I said just picture a raccoon with no hair... I don't know you guys, that's not what it looks like to me. I mean it has certain qualities of a naked mole rat and that's why they named the hairless racoon Rufus after the most famous naked mole rat in modern literature from the Kim Possible Animated series. They still aren't 100% sure what's going on with Rufus. The experts at the Nova Scotia wildlife sanctuary Checked Rufus out and she appears to be. Healthy. Just no hair. They're not 100% sure why/ They say it's unclear Why no hair. So for right now, They're just taking care of Rufus. Every day. Taking care of Rufus. Every way. And they're going to wait and see if Rufus Gets her groove back. and her fur back. They're not sure if they're going to be able to release Rufus into the wild or have Rufus live out her days in the Animal Rehabilitation Center. I want to send a shout out to all you folks who work in the animal shelters helping all God's creatures. Reminder: animal shelters are always thankful for your donation.
❼ Follow up to a story we talked about In an earlier episode What a Weird Week. It's official, the underwear on the head world record has been set. We talked about the event before it happened at The City Museum in St. Louis. They were inviting people to drop by and be a part of greatness... they were able to gather 355 people who simultaneously wore underwear on their heads. That is a world record.
If you caught that episode you'll remember that this was was in celebration of 314 day Which is the area code In St. Louis, and it's become a bit of a local holiday, which I had never heard about. And then to learn that one of the celebrations Was going to be the underwear world record attempt?! I mean, What a Fantastic Voyage Of learning For all of us who were unfamiliar with St. Louis, Missouri's 314 day! So congratulations to the crew at the City Museum in St. Louis and a shout out to Hoops... We got the story from Ben Hooper my future best friend who is the weird news Guru at United Press International. The photos are wonderful. If you have a chance to click our show notes page.
If you caught that episode you'll remember that this was was in celebration of 314 day Which is the area code In St. Louis, and it's become a bit of a local holiday, which I had never heard about. And then to learn that one of the celebrations Was going to be the underwear world record attempt?! I mean, What a Fantastic Voyage Of learning For all of us who were unfamiliar with St. Louis, Missouri's 314 day! So congratulations to the crew at the City Museum in St. Louis and a shout out to Hoops... We got the story from Ben Hooper my future best friend who is the weird news Guru at United Press International. The photos are wonderful. If you have a chance to click our show notes page.
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Next... the baby who won free Wifi...
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This is What a Weird Week. Thanks for listening and subscribing.
This is What a Weird Week. Thanks for listening and subscribing.
❻ The headline from The mirror in the United Kingdom is "I named my baby after my internet provider so I could get 18 years free Wi-Fi." The article describes the mom and dad as being a little ashamed of naming their daughter Twifia. This was a contest or a publicity stunt by the Swiss internet provider Twifi... It was quite a simple/ straightforward promotion... upload a photo of your child's birth certificate, they verify, and if you name your child after the internet provider, they in turn give you 18 years of free internet. I'm not sure what it costs for internet where you're at, but here where I am. It's a lot of money. Money that you could save for a little Twifia's college fund. If you didn't have to pay internet you could sock that money away and someday could pay for Twifia's college or therapy bills.
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❺ This one's scary and involves a haunted lake. The most haunted lake in the world - according to the article that came out this week - is Lake Lanier in Georgia. This part is serious: people have lost their lives there and many terrible things have happened at Lake Lanier as a part of its past. I don't want to make light of any of that... Sometimes these Haunting articles sort of gloss over the terrible tragedy and Jump Right Into "isn't ghost hunting fun?!"
I want to be respectful... so if you do a Google search for Lake Lanier you will find a lot of articles talking about how bad things happened there and the place must be haunted. The latest reason it's in the news is that this summer there will be a water park on the lake.
That's kind of the whole story. Would you enjoy some splashy fun in a haunted lake, or would you fill the blow-up pool in your backyard and enjoy that instead, because you can't be too careful?
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Next...the giant grasshopper in the fridge story
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You're listening to the What a Weird Week Program. It's weird news!
You're listening to the What a Weird Week Program. It's weird news!
❹ The headline from Jen Mills at metro dot co dot uk: "Man finds jacked up grasshopper in fridge after shopping in Aldi." So we don't have Aldi around here where I'm at, but grocery store and a fellow named Lee went shopping there. Got a bag of celery. Popped it in the fridge. Later on, opens the fridge & there's a giant grasshopper in there. I mean a 3-inch long grasshopper. That's a good-sized grasshopper for many of us. Perhaps where you live you grow them bigger. Imagine opening you refrigerator and there is this Monster grasshopper Staring at you. And that grasshopper is not happy. That grasshopper is freezing in your refrigerator. That grasshopper is like "Vengeance will be mine human." "Why did you lock me in this icy prison?" Anyway, that's kind of the whole story. One of these "Bug hitches a ride home on some produce" type of stories. If you want to see photos, you can click show notes dot page.
❸ New study indicates that listening to Ariana Grande and Drake, also Eminem in your car can make you a better/safer driver!? Billy Eilish is mentioned in the study too... & Beyonce. The study conducted by the good Folks at AutoTrader. They ran tests. People driving and as they encountered various hazards, what were they listening to? People who listen to Drake were safer drivers. That's kind of it in a nutshell. Further research is going to be needed. If you're a Drake fan, will you pay less for your Auto Insurance? Wouldn't that be something! Thank You Drake if that happens!! By the way, Johann Sebastian Bach didn't do as well... listening to classical music not as effective as Drake according to the study.
Next...universe-altering scientific breakthrough? or are they wrong? also, Tourist Burglars?!
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We're almost to the number one weird story of the week... this is the What a Weird Week Show.
We're almost to the number one weird story of the week... this is the What a Weird Week Show.
❷ from the Seattle Times an article about a burglary ring. They call it a burglary tourist ring... where people fly in from other countries to rob you and then they fly home again.
This article talks about a suspected burglar who the authorities caught up and who ended up being a 17 year old from Chile... this teenager allegedly was part of a team who admitted to breaking into a bunch of homes as part of a growing trend called burglary tourism. The thieves fly into the USA from South America, steal stuff, then fly back...
This article talks about a suspected burglar who the authorities caught up and who ended up being a 17 year old from Chile... this teenager allegedly was part of a team who admitted to breaking into a bunch of homes as part of a growing trend called burglary tourism. The thieves fly into the USA from South America, steal stuff, then fly back...
It sounds a bit wild but this is the Seattle Times, not some story on TikTok... the article does a deep dive... they say it's a thing that's been going on for a number of years and is growing.
I can see why it's growing. Let's face it, it's nice to get away. DGMW, It's wrong to steal, but it's nice to get away from it all... you know, get out of the house go on a little getaway. In this case, during their getaway they burgle. The name Burglary Tourism makes it sound like a fun thing to do. But really, it's organized crime isn't it??
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Which is a bit of a game-changer. Didn't we just figure out that we had dark matter not that long ago? And now we don't have dark matter?
This is a study from the University of Ottawa (Canada, North America, planet Earth.) I'm no expert but dark matter seems quite mysterious, and I thought people were leaning towards the theory that "the stuff we can't see holding the Universe together is dark matter." (scientific paraphrase.) See the link for the data... here's the score right now: maybe there is mysterious dark matter, and maybe there isn't (which is equally mysterious.)
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Next...number one... a common food could make you bionic... jk but...
♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫Catch up on the weird news of the week with What a Weird Week.
❶ Study from Concordia University in Montreal indicates that cranberries might make you bionic... or at least help you athletes. They were looking at the effects of cranberries on the cardiovascular health of mice. The study didn't prevent cardiovascular disease but it did help the mice do better in the cardiovascular department (cardiovascular functions). Improved running performance by 30%!? was one of the stats in the article. After the mice trial they decided to see how people did. The great thing about studying stuff we already know about like cranberries is... and I've said this before on this program... it's great! I like it when science goes back to things we already know about to see if they missed anything because you can jump right into human trials... like, we already know cranberries are edible. We can eat those things and see if it helps. So they gave cranberries to some human beings after the mice. Some human beings who are part of a running club. They took cranberry supplements every day for 28 days and they had better running outcomes. Further research is always needed. But it's cranberries, I mean if you wanted to gamble on adding cranberries to your diet... it seems do-able... but consult your physician first I guess.
❶ Study from Concordia University in Montreal indicates that cranberries might make you bionic... or at least help you athletes. They were looking at the effects of cranberries on the cardiovascular health of mice. The study didn't prevent cardiovascular disease but it did help the mice do better in the cardiovascular department (cardiovascular functions). Improved running performance by 30%!? was one of the stats in the article. After the mice trial they decided to see how people did. The great thing about studying stuff we already know about like cranberries is... and I've said this before on this program... it's great! I like it when science goes back to things we already know about to see if they missed anything because you can jump right into human trials... like, we already know cranberries are edible. We can eat those things and see if it helps. So they gave cranberries to some human beings after the mice. Some human beings who are part of a running club. They took cranberry supplements every day for 28 days and they had better running outcomes. Further research is always needed. But it's cranberries, I mean if you wanted to gamble on adding cranberries to your diet... it seems do-able... but consult your physician first I guess.
... that's the show for this week... For Shownotes and more go to ShowNotes Dot Page or search "What a Weird Week" wherever you get podcasts. Every weekend you can hear the show on Fun House Radio. Ask your smart speaker to
play Fun House Radio or see the link on our Shownotes Page. See you next week for another countdown of weird news.
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